Software application development has seen many advances. Low-level languages were very closely related to the hardware of the computing system on which programs were executed. High-level programming languages enabled programming that was more abstract than corresponding low-level programming languages and delivered greater portability across different platforms. Such high-level programming languages also permitted programmers to express operations in terms of variables, mathematical formulas, and Boolean expressions, rather than memory addresses and registers.
Object-oriented programming concepts and object-oriented languages, such as C++, further modularized software applications. Programming languages such as Java and Action Script 3 still further expanded the principles of object-oriented programming by introducing the concept of a virtual machine, which makes it possible to execute an application in a platform-independent environment.
Integrated development environments (IDEs), still further enhanced the efficient development of software applications. An IDE can be used to prototype, code, debug, and maintain software applications. Further, IDEs often include a graphical programming environment. IDEs can include standard components, such as controls and displays, that can be inserted into an application without having to be independently developed. Additionally, IDEs provide the ability to analyze and modify an existing application for which the source code is available.
However, a need still exists for an IDE that is not punitive with regards to software iterations. Methods relating to such an IDE would also be beneficial.